Colleyville Heritage High School (CHHS) is a public secondary school in Colleyville, Texas in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The school is a part of the Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District and serves freshmen through senior students in Colleyville and the surrounding areas. In 2011, the school was rated "Recognized" by the Texas Education Agency.
CHHS is located several miles west of the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. In 2014, CHHS was ranked as the 38th best high school in Texas by US News, and was ranked as the 221st best high school in the country by Newsweek magazine. The school celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2016. Rising ninth graders come from Heritage Middle School, Grapevine Middle School, and Colleyville Middle School, depending on the students' address and their placement in the district feeder pattern. Although Colleyville Heritage is in Colleyville, its students have addresses in Colleyville, Grapevine, and Euless.
Video Colleyville Heritage High School
History
Colleyville Heritage High School, the second public high school in the Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District, opened its doors on August 15, 1996, two years after the construction that began on March 1, 1994. The school's first principal, Dr. Marlin Stanberry, held his position for eight years (1996-2004). Other past principals include Dr. Robin Ryan (2004-2006), Becky Prentice (2006-2012), Dr. Joe Harrington (2012-2013), and Conrad Streeter (2014-2016). The current principal, as of 2016, is Lance Groppel.
Opening with approximately 1,300 enrolled students, Colleyville Heritage began as an 4A division school in accordance with UIL alignment policy, grew to a 5A school in 1999, and again to a 6A school in 2014 until it returned to 5A in the 2016-17 school year. The school has no direct feeder system; therefore, enrollment is based on students' home addresses and the middle school they attended.
Principals
- Dr. Marlin Stanberry (1996-2004)
- Dr. Robin Ryan (2004-2006)
- Becky Prentice (2006-2012)
- Dr. Joseph Harrington (2012-2013)
- Conrad Streeter (2013-2016)
- Lance Groppel (2016-present)
Maps Colleyville Heritage High School
Campus
CHHS, adjacent to Highway 121, with a campus area of 3000 square feet, was purchased from the Harrington Estate in 1996. The campus is surrounded by facilities including a football field, eight tennis courts, and two baseball fields. The football field is 120-yards with a quarter-mile track around it and is used for sporting events, rented by the community, and practiced on by athletes. The administration and counseling offices are to the right of the main entrance. The first floor encompasses the Panther Den, the Go Center for computer access, and the lecture hall.
The academic wing has three stories and is constructed in a circuit-like pattern. There are five PC labs and five Mac labs provided for student research, a computer science lab, and an animation room. The school also provides science facilities including six biology labs, five physics labs, and four chemistry labs. The academic wing also includes an elevator for staff members or students with extenuating circumstances.
Colleyville Heritage features a two-story athletic wing; a 2500-occupant main gym used for sporting events and pep rallies; four auxiliary gyms used for basketball, dance, and wrestling; a recreational courtyard; two choir halls; a black box theatre with a construction workshop; a band hall with eight practice rooms; and a 1500-seat auditorium.
"Buster" and "Babs" are the official mascots that support sporting teams. There is a bronze panther located within the building named "Pride" that can be seen near the Panther Den.
Traditions
Students at Colleyville Heritage High School celebrate many loved traditions. On the day of home football games, students attend a pep rally where they enjoy Pep Boy skits, dance performances, and cheer routines. During homecoming week, students participate in a parade in front of the school and observe a fireworks show. Black Attack, a coordinated student section, is present at football, basketball, and volleyball games to cheer on and support the Panther athletes. Colleyville Heritage High School also participates in Red Ribbon Week and other national awareness events. Colleyville has a longstanding rivalry with neighboring school Grapevine High School. The annual football game between the two schools, known as the Red Rail Rivalry, is one of the most anticipated games of the year for both communities. Although Colleyville has joined the 6A classification while Grapevine has remained in the 5A class until the 2016-17 school year when Colleyville joined them back at 5a, the schools continue to play each other.
CHHS students also participate in numerous annual charitable events, such as Color Runs and food drives. In 2013, students began selling shirts to raise money for Water is Basic instead of buying homecoming mums and garters. The tradition, known as HOPEcoming, has been continued by the students and has raised thousands of dollars to provide clean water in Sudan.
Alma Mater
- Colleyville Heritage, all hail the one we love!
- When we wear the Red and Black
- It's you we're thinking of.
- Colleyville Heritage, our faith will lead the way
- As Panther Pride fills up our hearts,
- United here to stay
Fight Song
- FIGHT, MIGHTY PANTHERS, fight on!
- Victory is ours today.
- FIGHT, MIGHTY PANTHERS, fight on!
- Faith will lead us on our way
- FIGHT, MIGHTY PANTHERS, fight on!
- Courage to never give in
- Strong and Always striving,
- Hear our voices rising,
- MIGHTY PANTHERS, FIGHT! LET'S WIN!
Awards and recognitions
Since its inception in 1996, Colleyville Heritage has been awarded a number of distinctions, including but not limited to the four listed below:
Academics
Colleyville Heritage High School is consistently highly ranked locally and nationally for its ongoing academic excellence. In the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, it is ranked 8th in academic advancement and 333rd in the nation. While the national average high school graduation rate is 80%, the graduation rate at Colleyville Heritage is 90%, and 77% of graduates go on to a four-year college or university.
CHHS students have the opportunity to take 25 AP courses for college credit, starting with Human Geography in freshman year. 66% of all students take AP courses at some point in their high school careers, and the average AP participant takes 5 exams. CHHS also offers many technical elective courses that are career-specific, such as sports marketing, culinary arts, and forensic science. CHHS also sponsors the Castle Chapter of the National Honor Society, which is available to seniors whom hold a 4.25 GPA and an extensive record of community service. There are also honor societies for students taking upper-level PreAP and AP language courses, such as National Spanish Honor Society and National French Honor Society, as well as an AVID program that prepares underachieving students with great academic potential for college.
The average SAT score is 1627 (out of 2400) and the average ACT is 25 (out of 36), compared to the national averages of 1500 and 21, respectively. In the 2014-2015 school year, there were 11 National Merit Semi-Finalists, juniors who scored at least a 218 out of 240 on the PSAT, putting them in the top 0.5% of test takers in the nation. Several CHHS students have made perfect scores on the ACT.
Fine arts
Art
Colleyville Heritage High School has a diverse selection of art classes. The school offers studio art, electronic media art, drawing, jewelry, and ceramic classes to students. Students who have taken four semesters of an art class and have maintained a 95 or above grade average in the class also have the opportunity to join the National Art Honor Society.
Art students have also been awarded national art awards and titles. Jinny & Susan Seo became National Scholastic Art Award winners in the spring of 2012. Colleyville Heritage art students also participate in VASE. At the regional competition in 2013, 54 artworks received a score of a 4, nine of which moved on to the state competition, and in 2014, 37 artworks received a score of a 4 and six of these works moved on to the state competition.
Band, drumline, and color guard
The Colleyville Heritage Band, created in 1996, is organized around two main seasons of the year: marching in the fall and concert in the spring. The program has four concert bands (Wind Symphony, Symphonic Band, Concert I & Concert II) whose members are chosen based on each student's individual abilities, judged during biannual auditions. Wind Symphony, the top varsity group of musicians, is led by head director Nick Thomas. Symphonic Band is led by assistant director Laura Hunt. Concert Band I and II are led by assistant directors Nick Beaudet and Taylor Goodwin, respectively.
The Panther Marching Band, which includes the Colleyville Heritage Color Guard and Drumline, is composed of a varsity and junior-varsity (JV) group. All band students participate in football games and perform during the halftime show, while only the varsity group performs in competitions. The Panther Marching Band has produced and performed a marching show every year since 1996, and has continually received high ratings at a multitude of competitions. In 2003, the CHHS band was selected as one of ten bands in the nation to perform in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.
The Colleyville Heritage Drumline is led by band director and percussion coordinator Nick Beaudet with assistance from battery coordinator Jeremiah Jones and front ensemble coordinator Dan Darrah. The CHHS drumline has been a successful participant in high-level percussion competitions, including the Plano Drumline Competition at Plano Senior High School, the Lone Star Classic competition at Marcus High School in Flower Mound, the Lewisville Drumline Competition, and most notably, the PASIC high school level drumline competition.
Choir
The Colleyville Heritage High School choir program includes chamber choir, chorale, jazz choir, concert choir, and the choraliers. Thomas J. Rinn, who joined Colleyville Heritage as head choir director at the beginning of the 2014-2015 school year, and Casey Muckley, who has been associate choir director since 2012, direct all five choirs. Previous choir directors include Lauren Fisher, who led the Colleyville Heritage choirs for four years, and Danny Detrick, who was director for 12 years prior. All of the directors have taken the choirs to UIL competitions, where the choirs have received numerous sweepstakes in concert performance and sight-reading. Since 2005, both the varsity and non-varsity mixed choirs have had nine total sweepstakes awards, earning the highest ratings of straight ones at UIL.
Dance
The Dance team in CHHS is broken into two main groups, the varsity Panteras and junior varsity Pantherettes. The CHHS dance teams are led by Kelli Woodruff, who has been the director since 2003. For the past 13 years, the Panteras have received numerous awards in jazz, lyrical, pom, and modern sections of dance, and have secured the title of national champions since 2010. The Panteras and Pantherettes practice daily and perform in school-led activities such as pep-rallies and football games. Most recently, the Panteras participated in a national competition in San Antonio and received top scores in all events, including sections of jazz, lyrical, pom, and modern. In 2006, the Panteras competed in the Showmakers Hawaii Spring Fling Nationals and ranked second place, and performed at the USS Missouri earning recipient of the American Flag which flew over the USS Arizona Memorial and USS Missouri on the day of the performance, March 13, 2006. In 2008, the Pantera placed first in the Extra Large Team Divisions of Jazz, Modern, Lyrical, and Prop and received third place nationally. The Panteras are known for placing first in each of the four sections of the 2011 National Dance Competition hosted in Ft. Worth, TX; winning in Prop, Jazz, Lyrical, and Modern dances. The Panteras are the national champions of dance since competing in the 2011 National Competition in Ft. Worth.
Theatre
The Colleyville Heritage Theatre department was established at the school's opening. Its courses include Technical Theatre I-IV, Theatre Arts I-IV, and Theatre Production I-IV. Productions are performed in the school's main auditorium and the more intimate black box theatre throughout the year. In addition to its regular season, the department also competes every year in the Texas UIL one-act play competition. From 2013 to 2016 the department's spring musical was nominated for Best Musical in Dallas Summer Musicals High School Musical Theater Awards in three consecutive years. In 2015, the department's performance of Fire in the Hole by Robert Schenkkan advanced to the state level of competition.
Athletics
Up until the 2016-17 school year, all Colleyville Heritage athletic leagues have played in division 6A. Before 2014, the school was classified as 4A from 1996 to 2000 and 5A from 2000 to 2014.
Baseball
The Colleyville Heritage Panther Baseball Team was established in 1997. The head coach of the team for the 2014-2015 season is Alan McDougal, who has resided as head coach since the 2006-2007 season. The Panthers have qualified for the UIL Conference 5A playoffs every year since 2007. The Panthers were also Area Finalists in the 2011-2012 UIL Conference 5A Baseball Playoffs and were Regional Quarterfinalists in 2010-2011 and 2012-2013 UIL Conference 5A Baseball Playoffs.
Basketball (girls)
The Lady Panther basketball program began the same year the school was established. Since 2002, the team has been head coached by Dianna Sager, who received Coach of the Year in the 5-5A district in 2012. Sager was also promoted to Athletic Coordinator of Colleyville Heritage in May 2014.
Cross country
The CHHS cross country team was established in 1996 and currently competes in the Texas 5A UIL competition. The coaching staff for each year is as follows: Maxie Hays (1996-1999), Allen Burns (1999-2004), Robin McCourt (2004-2006), Lindy Lombard (2007-2012), and Will Carter (2013-present).
Football
The Colleyville Heritage football team played its inaugural season in 1996. The team has made the playoffs in nine consecutive seasons beginning in 2006 to 2015, with a 75-29 record during this span. During the 2006 season, the team reached the state quarterfinals before losing to eventual state champion Southlake Carroll. The team won its first district championship in the 2001 season, and finished with a 10-2 mark before losing to Desoto in the second round of the playoffs. The Panthers reached ten game victories again in the 2012 season, but lost in the second round of the playoffs to Waco Midway.
For the first eleven years, the team was led by head coach Chris Cunningham. He guided the program to a 63-58 record during his tenure. He also led the team's only district championship in 2001, and its farthest run in the playoffs in 2006 before leaving for Prestonwood Christian Academy in Plano. Mike Fuller, formerly the coach at Coppell, replaced Cunningham before the 2007 season. Fuller then led the team to a 60-19 record in 7 seasons, and reached the playoffs each year. In the spring of 2014, Fuller stepped down from his position to become the head coach at Decatur High School, and was replaced by former Odessa Permian and Austin Westlake head coach Darren Allman. In his season with the Panthers, Allman led the team to a playoff berth before losing to eventual state champion Cedar Hill in the first round of the tournament. Allman left CHHS in the spring of 2015 to become head athletic director for Carroll ISD. For the 2015-2016 season, the Panthers are led by new head coach Joe Willis, who won a state championship in 2012 as the head coach of 5A Cedar Park High School.
The Panthers found their first win over local rival Grapevine High School in the 2001 season. The rivalry dates back to the school's first season when the cities of Grapevine and Colleyville were split between the two high schools at the time of Colleyville Heritage High School's construction. Colleyville leads the series 11-9, but has won eight of the previous nine meetings and five consecutively. In 2010, the rivalry was officially named "The Battle of the Red Rail" and given a trophy.
The varsity home football games are played at Mustang-Panther Stadium, a 9,100-seat multi-purpose venue that Colleyville Heritage shares with Grapevine High School. The junior varsity and freshman football teams play their games on the CHHS campus field.
Gymnastics
CHHS gymnastics is a cut sport. Prior to the 2010-2011 school year, anyone could sign up for the team. However, that year, CHHS coaches were finally allowed to implement the tryout process to create JV and Varsity teams. CHHS gymnastics won the 2012-2013 district meet and made CHHS history by qualifying as a team for State in 2012.
Lacrosse
The Colleyville lacrosse program was started in 2002 and is considered a club team as it is not affiliated with UIL. As of 2015, Gary Dennington is the head coach and is assisted by Darrel Barabash, James Kaleigh, and Ryan Gradke. The program had its most notable year in 2014 when the team placed 5th in the state.
Soccer (boys)
The Colleyville Heritage boys soccer team was established in 1996 at the school's opening. From the 2014-2015 season to the 2016-2017 season, the team competes in the UIL 6A District 7. The team's deepest playoff push came in the 2010-2011 season, under head coach Mike Ridley, when the team reached the 5th round of the competition and became the State Champions. The previous head coaches are: John Furin (1997-2000), Rex Armstrong (2001), Jason Venable (2002-2003), Brian Beswick (2004-2007), Mike Ridley (2008-2013), and Adam Phillips (2014-present). The boys soccer team has reached the playoffs eight out of eighteen seasons, reaching the first round in 1997 and 2005; the second round in 2003, 2006, 2012 and 2014; the fourth round in 1998; and the fifth round in 2011.
Soccer (girls)
The Colleyville Heritage girls soccer team was created along with the founding of Colleyville Heritage High School in 1996. The Lady Panthers currently compete in the UIL 7-5A district as of 2016-2017, and will continue to compete in this district until 2016. Misail Tsapos led the team from 1998 to 2001. In 2002, head coach John Furin led the team for eight years until Misail Tsapos took charge again in 2010.
The team won the Class-4A state title in 1999, defeating Friendswood High School 2-0. The team returned to the state finals in 2011, but ended as the runner up. Lady Panthers' soccer has consistently competed with the top teams in its area for around a decade.
Softball
The Lady Panthers Softball team was established in 1996 at the inception of the high school. Currently a UIL district 5A team, Lady Panthers Softball consists of one Varsity team and, as of 2014, two Junior Varsity teams: JV Black and JV Red. The Lady Panthers regularly play teams within its district such as the L.D. Bell Lady Raiders, R.L. Turner Lady Lions, Irving Nimitz Lady Vikings, Irving Lady Tigers, Irving MacArthur Lady Cardinals, Grapevine Lady Mustangs, and the Trinity Lady Trojans. The Lady Panthers play both the fall and spring season, and have been doing so for the last several years. The team is ranked 65th in the region, 299th in the state, and 2698th in the country.
The Lady Panthers have made several appearances in Finals and District playoffs, and were district champions in 1997, 1998, and 2014. In the 1996-1997 school year the Lady Panthers reached Regional Quarterfinals, and in the 1997-1998 school year the team reached State Semifinals. The 2002-2003 achievements include reaching Area, Bi-District, and Playoffs in the 2004-2005 season. Additionally, the team progressed to Bi-District and Playoffs in 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2012-2013, and 2013-2014.
The Lady Panthers' latest achievements include going 14-0 during the 2013-2014 district games; the team won 14 district games in a row and made it to the playoffs where the Lady Panthers played two games against the Hebron Lady Hawks.
Swim team
The Colleyville Heritage High School Swim Team is within the 5A Division as of 2016, and is associated with the National Federation of State High School and the University Interscholastic League. Both the Junior Varsity and Varsity teams are coached by Daniel Jau.
Track and field
The Colleyville Heritage track and field program has been active since the school's opening in 1996; students participate in running, jumping, throwing, and field events. Track is a no-cut sport: any athlete in track is able to compete in meets. The history of head coaches for the track program is as follows: Maxie Hays (1996-1999), Allen Burns (1999-2004), and Bill Anderson (2004-present).
Volleyball
Colleyville Heritage volleyball, now in District 7-5A, has a history of college commits, district champions, and playoff records. The team was the district champion from 2010-2014, defeating both Carroll Senior High and Coppell High School, state champions in recent years. The program was directed under head coach Jamie Siegel - a 2012 Under 30 Winner as named by the American Volleyball Coaches Association as well as District 6-5A Coach of the Year in both 2011 and 2012 - from 2010 to 2014. Siegel was also honored as one of the top three choices in the sports category for the John C. Maxwell Leadership Award.
Wrestling
After many years in the UIL 5A district, Colleyville Heritage's wrestling team now participates in the UIL 6-5A district. The most decorated wrestler to attend Colleyville Heritage is Jeremy Sandoval, who won state championship in 2006 in the 112 weight class; 2007 in the 130 weight class; and 2008 in the 130 weight class. Going into his senior year, Jeremy had 101 wins and one loss, and he came in third place in the state tournament of 2009 for the 140 weight class. Jeremy now attends the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where he is on the wrestling team. During Jeremy Sandoval's time at CHHS, the head coach was David Traver, who held the position from 2004 to 2009, while the current wrestling head coach at Colleyville Heritage is Waymon May, who became the coach in 2013.
Golf (boys and girls)
Colleyville Heritage's golf teams consistently include 12 boys and 15 girls. The golf program is coached by Gerald Brown, who was a recognized as an Outstanding Educator Finalist by the Texas PTA in 2014. The boys and girls compete separately, and both groups are split into a varsity and junior varsity squad. Golf is a cut sport at Colleyville Heritage, and the school has a reputation for being competitive annually in the sport. The program is looking to add an on campus practice green for use by both the girls and boys squad.
Controversies
In 2004, allegations were brought against Colleyville claiming that the culture of the athletics program pressured students to use performance-enhancing drugs in order to better their performance. Coaches were alleged to have turned a blind eye as well as implicitly encouraged the use of drugs by practices such as bench strength comparison. A Dallas Morning News report entitled "The Secret Edge" prompted the district to conduct its own investigation, which found no evidence of official wrongdoing, but the district made assurances it would do more to reduce pressure on the students to use these drugs.
This controversy was one of the factors that led to UIL imposing a random drug testing policy for all students enrolled in UIL activities beginning in the 2007-2008 school year. Although this was a new requirement for Texas schools, CHHS had already implemented its own drug testing system two years prior. This policy is still discussed and criticized by many in the district because of the high cost and the small percentage of positive tests: less than 4% of those selected to be drug tested return positive results. Others, however, argue that the policy of random drug testing should be expanded further than the UIL boundaries.
Notable alumni/staff
- Annie Ilonzeh, '01, actress (Charlie's Angels, Arrow (TV series), He's Just Not That Into You)
- Jaimie Alexander, '02, actress (Kyle XY, Blindspot)
- Stephen Lambdin, '06, 15x Multi-National Taekwondo team member representing the U.S., 2016 TeamUSA Rio Olympics
- Christian Ponder, '06, Quarterback for the Denver Broncos
- James Russell, '04, Major League Baseball player
- Kyle Kubitza, '08, baseball player
- Patrick Palmeiro, '08, baseball player for the Chicago White Sox organization
- Randall Thorpe, '08, former baseball player for the Chicago White Sox organization
- Austin Kubitza, '09, baseball player
- Disco Curtis, '10, rock band made up of alumni
- Cody Thomas, '13, quarterback for Oklahoma University, drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 13th round in the 2016 MLB draft.
References
Source of article : Wikipedia
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